Alta Sierra turkey hunter bitten by coyote

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Gerry Beach, who was concealed and wearing camouflage, was bitten in the knee by the coyote before it ran off, he said.

“I believe he thought I was a turkey,” Beach said.

The Clover Valley resident sustained two minor puncture wounds from the bite but had to undergo a series of seven rabies shots, he said.

Beach was hunting on the first day of turkey season with his son on a hill behind his house since just before daylight Saturday, he said. His son had bagged a turkey and had returned to the house. About an hour into the hunt, Beach said he saw a big coyote farther down the hill. Then, about an hour later, he saw a turkey and called to it.

“It gobbled back, so I knew it was a male,” Beach said.

Beach said he began trying to lure the turkey into range by calling it.

“I was half-hidden and was head to toe in camo,” Beach said. “I was sitting down, and I had a mask over my head.

“Then wham, out of the blue, the coyote grabbed my knee,” he said.” It was big.”

The coyote immediately ran off, he said.

“The shock factor was almost more when I got home,” Beach said. “It was sort of a delayed reaction.”

The Alta Sierra man ended up going to the emergency room, where he was treated and released.

A state Department of Fish and Wildlife warden did come out to the property and talked to the neighbors, Beach said. After others also said they had seen the coyote, Beach said they were advised to shoot it if they saw it again.